Every year thousands of dogs are abandoned in the UK. Joyce Marriott, trustee
of an animal shelter near High Wycombe explains the challenges of operating
a strict 'no-kill' policy.

12:01AM GMT 13 Dec 2012

With animal welfare charity Dogs Trust launching its festive campaign, A Dog Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas, The Telegraph took a tour of the Stokenchurch Dog Rescue Centre in High Wycombe with trustee Joyce Marriott.

Meeting the abandoned dogs at the centre, some of them long-term residents, Ms Marriott explained that unlike some other shelters Stokenchurch "never puts a healthy dog down".

The centre usually has about 50 dogs at the centre and rehouses around 35 every month but they don't rehome dogs in the Christmas period, in case they end up abandoned.

"We don't find a huge upsurge in dogs being abandoned during the Christmas period these days, partly because the 'dog is for life not just for Christmas message' has got through," said Joyce.

"But it also takes a couple of months for the novelty to wear off, and for the puppy to grow. So, it can be February or March before they're out on the streets."

Once the centre has rehoused dogs, they then get more dogs from local council dog pounds, where dogs can legally be destroyed after seven days.

"These dogs are literally hours from death," Joyce told The Telegraph. "Dozens of dogs are put down every day simply because people don't want them any more. There is nothing physically wrong with them."

The centre cares for around 1,200 dogs each year and usually manages to rehome about 1,000 of them.

www.stokenchurchdogrescue.co.uk

Every year dogs around the country are returned to shelters by owners unprepared for the reality of caring for a pet.

The Dogs Trust said some are handed in "just for being dogs" and the charity said it is is bracing itself for the latest influx of unwanted presents.

Clarissa Baldwin, chief executive of the Trust, said: "This year sees the 34th anniversary of Dogs Trust's iconic slogan 'A dog is for life, not just for Christmas' and sadly it's as true today as when it was first coined.

"We see a number of dogs handed into our rehoming centres in the days and weeks following Christmas when the appeal of a cute puppy has worn off.

"It seems that people are still giving puppies as Christmas presents without considering the long-term ramifications.

"Dogs can provide a world of happiness and enjoyment, and we urge anyone considering a new addition to the family to think it through properly and remember that the only place a puppy should be is on the outside of the wrapping paper, not inside it."